Bling-Bling is a term in hip hop culture that refers mostly to flashy or elaborate jewelry and ornamented body accessories. Bling-Bling has started a world wide trend and we can refer to it, without hesitation, as to an entire culture. Many popular hip-hop stars claimed the introduction of this bling-bling fashion style that nowadays is wide spread.
Bling-Bling trend has spread quite fast way beyond hip hop culture and into mass culture. On the market one can find various bling-bling items: from flashy bling-bling jewelry and accessories to expensive dental grills and phone caps with many sparkling stones.
That phrase made such an impact that commercial and advertisement firms used in many successful ads. The history of this term is quite interesting and its popularity made rapper B.G. remarked that he “just wished that he’d trademarked it” so that he could have profited from its use.
All the sparkle that bling-bling fashion trend offer has also a down side. The short film Bling: Consequences and Repercussions explains how diamonds (a staple of bling-bling fashion) occasionally originate as conflict diamonds, fueling wars, poverty, and killings in Africa.
Even more controversial is the value of bling-bling in South African hip hop aesthetics. Pre-, during, and post-apartheid, black South Africans have long been exploited for their land’s precious metal (“blood diamonds”). Gavin Steingo has stated, “It truly is tragic that many young South Africans have embraced the Western gold fetish: a fetish which prizes gold as nothing more than a label of ostentatious wealth.” Despite its relations to blood diamonds conspicuous consumption effect of Black American Hip Hop remains present in kwaito.
Source: www.en.wikipedia.org
Tags: bling-bling, blood diamonds, fashion, jewelry tips
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